Cordwinders



Nov. 28, 1961 M. E. BELICKA ETAL 3,011,033

CORDWINDERS Filed Dec. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Mic/mn E. fuclm BY Huf/v p am United States Patent Oce 3,911,633 Patented Nov. 28, 1961 3,011,633 CORDWINBERS Michael E. Beiirka, Greenwich, and Allen P. Cawl, New Canaan, Conn., assignors to Electrolux Corporation, Gld Greenwich, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Filed Bec. `16, 1959, er. No. 860,929 8 Claims. (Cl. 191-12.2)

Our invention relates to cordwinders and more particularly to cordwinders for use in connection with tank type vacuum cleaners. Cleaners of this type include a generally cylindrical elongated housing provided with means for supporting it in a substantially horizontal position upon a surface such as a floor. The inlet to the vacuum cleaner is at one end of the housing, while the exhaust opening is located at the other end. The most convenient location for a cordwinder on such a vacuum cleaner is at the exhaust end. Heretofore, it has been the practice to space the cordwinder Ifrom the exhaust opening so as to permit the escape of air to the atmosphere. However, this has required that the cordwinder be removed when it is desired to connect a hose to the exhaust opening in order to use the vacuum cleaner as a blower. It has also been proposed, as is shown in Patent No. 2,322,038 issued lune l5, 1943, to provide a central passageway through the cordwinder through which the exhaust air may pass. However, if an ordinary spiral spring is employed in a cordwinder of this type, the central fixed drum around which the spring is wound must be of a diameter equal to that of a central passage, which means in elfect that the spring cannot be fully wound up.

According to the present invention we provide a cordwinder having a centrally located exhaust passage extending therethrough around which the cordwinding spool is rotatably mounted. However, instead of using an ordinary spiral spring, we employ a soecalled Negator spring which is prestressed to coil itself around a storage drum which is disposed to one side of the cordwinding spool and hence the diameter of this drum is not limited by the diameter of the exhaust passageway. A spring of this type is particularly advantageous in a cordwinder because it produces a substantially constant torque throughout its entire range of operation.

One of the objects of our invention is to provide in a cordwinder of this type a hub member rotatably mounted about the central passageway, which hub is provided with three axially spaced flanges. One of the end flanges is made of insulating material upon which slip rings are directly mounted. The intermediate flange may be of sheet metal and together with the flange of insulating material forms a spool upon which the cord may be wound. The other end flange is preferably integral with the hub and forms therewith a driving drum on which the spring may be wound.

As above stated, a spring storage drum is mounted to one side of the hub and in radial alignment with the driving drum. In accordance with our invention this storage drum is rotatably mounted on a shaft fixed to the corde Winder housing and is also movable axially on this shaft. The diameter of this storage drum is such that it extends between the intermediate and integral flanges of the spool and is maintained in proper alignment with the driving drum by these flanges, thus making unnecessary accurate positioning of the storage drum on its supporting shaft.

Further objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification and of which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a cordwinder in accordance with our invention and of a portion of a vacuum cleaner to which the cordwinder is secured and;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. l. n

Referring to the drawings, reference character 10 designates generally the substantially cylindrical housing of a vacuum cleaner of the tank type which is provided with small wheels 12 for supporting it in a substantially horizontal position on a surface such as the floor 14. Mounted within the housing 1d is a motor fan unit comprising an electric motor 16 and a centrifugal fan 18, the latter being provided with an inlet opening 20. The motor 1s supplied with electricity through leads 22 which are connected tothe conductors in a cord 2:4. Casing lllA of the vacuum cleaner is provided with an exhaust opening 26.

Reference character 28 designates generally a cordwinder which is secured to the exhaust end of the housing 1d of the vacuum cleaner. As shown, this cordwinder includes a housing comprising parts 3G and 32 which may be secured together in any suitable manner. Part 32 is formed with a central tube 34 opening at one end to the atmosphere, while the other end is aligned with an opening 36 lformed in part 30, which opening in turn is aligned with the exhaust opening 26 of the vacuum cleaner. Thus, operation of the motor 16 causes the fan 2li to draw air in through the inlet 2G, which air passes through the motor and to the exhaust opening 26 along the path indicated by the arrows.

Rotatably mounted about the tube 34 by means of ball bearings 38 and 40 is a hub member 42 having a flange 44 integrally formed at the outer end thereof. A flange 46 of insulating material is secured to the other end of hub 42 and may include a sleeve portion 48 surrounding part of the hub. A disc-like member 50, preferably of sheet metal, forms an intermediate flange on hub 42. The space between flanges 46 and 50' constitutes a cordwinding spool upon which a cord 52 may be wound for storage. One end of the cord extends through an opening 54- formed in the housing of the cordwinder and is provided with an electric plug 56 which is too large to pass through the opening. The other end of the cord is electrically connected to a pair of slip rings 58 and 60 which `are concentrically mounted directly in the outer face of insulating llange 46. An insulating member 62 is carried by part 30 of the cordwinder housing and has mounted thereon brushes 64 and 66 which have frictional Contact with the slip rings 58 and 60, respectively in order to establish an electric connection therebetween. The conductors in cord 24 are electrically connected t0 the brushes 64 and 66. Thus an electric circuit is established from cord 52 through slip rings 58 and 6l), brushes 64 and 66, cord 24 and leads 22 to the motor 16.

The portion of hub 42 between integral flange 44 and intermediate ange 5l) constitutes a spring driving drum. A shaft 68 is fixed in a bushing 69 integral with housing part 32 and extends parallel to the center of rotation of hub 42. As shown, this shaft is located inwardly of the periphery of intermediate flange 50 and terminates in close proximity to the outer face of the flange. R0tatably mounted on shaft 68 is a spring storage drum '70 having axially spaced flanges. The diameter of this storage drum is less than that of the spring driving drum formed on hub 4Z, but is sufficient so that the storage drum extends between the flanges 44 and 5G. The storage drum is free to move axially on its supporting shaft 68 and is properly aligned with respect to the driving drum by the flanges 44 and 50. In this way, it is not necessary to axially position the storage drum on the shaft 68 in order to obtain the necessary alignment.

A Negator spring 72 is pnestressed so as to tend to coil itself tightly around the storage drum 70. The outer end` of this spring is secured to the surface of the winding drum onthe hub 42 by a pin 74 carried by the hub, as is shown in FIG. l, and the spring is arranged to be reversely wound on the driving drum.

Pivotally mounted on the outer face of flange 44 is a pair of pawls 76, while the outer cylindrical surface of tube 34 is formed with a plurality of recesses 7S. AS shown in FIG. 2, the shape of the recesses is such that if the pawls engage therein during rotation of the flange in a counter-clockwise direction, the pawls will catch inV the recess and prevent further rotation. However, if the flange is rotating in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FlG. 2, the pawls will not catch in the recesses.

vWhen the cord 52 is fully Wound, as shown in FIG. l, practically all of the spring 72 is on the storage drum 70. When it is desired to connect the plug 56 of the cord to an outlet in order to supply current to the vacuum cleaner, the plug is grasped and pulled outwardly. ThisV causes the cord to unwind from the cordwinding spool, thus rotating the hub 42 in a clock-wise direction as viewed in FIG. 2. `At the same time, the spring 72 is unwound from the storage drum ,70' and reversely wound onthe drivingdrurn on the hub 42. The nature of a spring of this type is to tend to return to the storage drum and consequently when the outward pull on the cord ceases, the spring tendency to return to the storage drum drives the hub 42 in the opposite direction. If the pull on the cord ceases entirely, the spring will drive the spool in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2, with sufficient speed so that centrifugal force will hold the pawls 7e in their outer position so that the ends thereof will not engage within the recesses 78, with the result that the cord will be rewound until the plug S6 reaches the opening 54 through which it is unable to pass. the otherV hand, if the operator continues to pull on the cord so that the spring is able to drive the hub 42 at only a slow speed, gravity will cause the pawl 76 which is passing through the upper half of its travel around the tube 34 to slide along the surfaceof the tube until it drops into a recess 78, whereupon it will engage the recess and prevent further lrotation of the hub. When it is desired to rewind the cord this may be done by iirst pulling it out a short distance and then releasing it completely so that the spring may rotate the hub fast enough to cause centrifugal force to keep the pawls 76 away from the surface in which the recesses 78 are formed.

During rotation of the hub in either'direction, it is important that the storage drum 70 be properly aligned with the driving drum formed on the lhub in order that the spring may be wound properly and with a minimum of friction against the anges on the drums. Particularly in mass production it would be diiicult to properly position the storage drum 7!) on the shaft 68 in order to obtain the properralignment. However, by permitting the `drum to move freely in an axial direction on the shaft while at the same time positioning the drum so that it extends between the iianges 44 and 50,` these ilanges automatically provide the proper alignment. The flanges on the drum 70 restrain the spring 72 Yfrom coning (that is, winding up with successive turns off-set in an axial direction) when it is wound on the drum which, if it were to occur, would cause the edge of the springto rub against Vpose of this stop is to limit the displacement of the storage drum 7) in this direction. When the spring is stored on this drum the drum and spring have considerable weight and if the cordwinder should beV dropped the inertia might be sufficient to cause the drum to distort the sheet metal flange 50, thus permitting the storage drum to slide farpenough off shaft 68 to become cocked and jammed. However, this is prevented by the stop 86* While we have shown one more or less specific embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that this hasv been done for the purpose of illustration only and Onl that the scope of our invention is not to be limited thereby, but is to be determined from the appended claims.

What we claim is: l. In a cordwinder, a frame, a lcordwinding spool rotatably supported by said frame, said spool including axially spaced parallel anges, a cord connected to said spool to be wound thereon between the adjacent inner faces of said flanges, a driving drum having a cylindrical hub portion mounted for rotation ccaxially with said spool adjacent to the outer face of one of said flanges, saiddrum having a third flange at the end of said hub remote from said one flange -and axially parallel thereto, a spring storage drum rotatably supported by said frame to one side of and in radial alignment with said driving drum, the diameter of said storage drum being less than that of said driving drum and the periphery of the storage drum extending between said one flange and said third ilange, and a spring prestressed to coil tightly around said storage `drum and having its outer end secured to said hub portion of the driving drum to be wound thereon when said spool and driving drum are rotated by unwinding of said cord from said spool.

2. ln a cordwinder, a frame, a cordwinding spool rotatably supported by said frame, said spool including axially spaced parallel flanges, a cord connected to said spool to be wound thereon between the adjacent inner faces of said anges, `a driving drum having a cylindrical hub portion mounted `for rotation coaxially with said spool adjacent to the outer face of one of said tlanges, said drum having a third flange at the end of said drum -hub remote from said one flange and axially parallel thereto, said third flange having a diameter substantially less than that of said spaced flanges, a spring storage drum rotatably/,supported by said frame to one side of and in radial alignment with said driving drum, the diameter of lsaid storage drum being less than that of said driving drum and the periphery of the storage drum extending inwardly beyond the periphery of said third flange, a spring prestressed to coil tiightfly around said storage drum and having its outer end secured to said hub portion of the driving drum to be wound thereon when said spool and driving drum are rotated by unwinding said :cord from said spool, and a ilange on the end of said storage drum adjacent to said one of the spaced dianges. Y

3. In a cordwinder, a `frame, a cordwinding spool rotatably supported by said frame, said spool including axially spaced parallel flanges, a cord connected to said spool to be wound thereon between the adjacent :inner faces of lsaid ilanges, `a driving drum having a cylindrical hub portion mounted for rotationcoaxially with said spooll adjacent to the outer face of one of said ilanges, said drum having a third ilange at the end of said hub remote from said one Flange and axially parallel thereto, a shaft supportedV byV said frame to one side of said driving drum and extending parallel to the axis thereof, a spring storage drum rotatably supported by said shaft, said storage drum having parallel flanges spaced apart axially a distance slightly less than the distance between said one ilange and said third flange and extending inwardly between said one flange and said third ange, said storage drum being axially `displaceable on said shaft so as to be radially alignable with said driving drum by said one ilange and said third iiange, and a spring prestressed to coil tightly around said storage drum and having its outer end secured to said hub portion of the driving ydrum to be wound thereon when said spool and driving drum are rotated -by unwinding said cord from said spool.

4. In a cordwinder, .a lframe, a cordwinding spool rotatably supported by said frame, said spool including axially spaced parallel llanges, a cord connected to said spool to be wound thereon between the adjacent inner faces of said flanges, a driving 4drum having a cylindrical hub portion mounted for rotation coaxially with said spool adjacent to the outer face of one of said ilanges, said drum having a third flange at the end of said drum hub remote from said one ilange and axially parallel thereto, said third flange having a diameter substantially less than that ot said spaced flanges, a spring storage drum rotatably supported by said frame to one side of and in radial alignment with said driving drum, the diameter of said storage drum being less than that of said driving drum, and the periphery of the storage drum extending inwardly -beyond the periphery of said third ange, a spring prestressed to coil tightly around said storage drum and having its outer end secured to said hub portion of the driving drum to be wound thereon when said spool and driving drum are rotated by unwinding said cord from said spool, a fourth flange on the end of said storage drum adjacent to said one of said spaced anges, and a stop carried by said frame and disposed -adjacent to said fourth tlange for limiting axial displacement of said storage reel and the spring wound thereon towards said one of said spaced flanges.

5. In a cordwinder, a frame, a cordwinding spool rotatably supported by said rframe, said spool including axially spaced parallel anges one of which is made of insulating material and the other of metal, a cord connected to said spool to be wound thereon between the adjacent inner faces of said llanges, a spring driving drum having a cylindrical hub portion mounted for rotation coaxially with said spool adjacent to the outer face of said metal ilange, said drum having a third flange at the end of said drum hub remote from said metal llange and axially parallel thereto, a spring storage drum rotatably supported by said frame to one side of said driving drum, the diameter of said storage drum being less than that of said driving drum and said storage drum extending between said metal ange and said third flange to radially align said storage drum with said driving drum, a spring prestressed to coil tightly laround said storage drum and having its outer end secured to said hub portionof the driving drum to be wound thereon when said spool and driving drum are rotated by unwinding of said cord from said spool, a pair of concentric slip rings mounted directly on said ange of insulating material, and -a pair of brushes supported by said frame for `frictionally contacting said slip rings to establish electr-ical connections therewith.

6. In -a cordwinder, a casing havin-g a tube extending therethrough to form a passage, a cordwinding spool rotatably mounted within said casing on said tube, said spools including axially spaced parallel flanges, a cord connected to said spool to be wound thereon between the adjacent inner faces of said anges, a driving drum having a cylindrical hub portion adjacent to the outer face of one of said iianges and mounted for rotation with said spool on said tube, said drum having a third flange at the end of said hub remote from said one ange and axially parallel thereto, a spring storage drum rotatably supported in said casing to one side of said driving drum, the diameter of said storage drum being less than that of said driving drum and said storage drum extending between said one of said flanges and said third ange to radially align said storage drum with said driving drum, and a spring prestressed to coil tightly around said storage drum and having its outer end secured to 6 said hub portionof the driving drum to be wound thereon when said spool and driving drum are rotated by unwinding of said cord lfro-rn said spool.

7. dn a cordwinder, a frame, a hub rotatably mounted on said frame and formed at one end with a ange integral therewith, an intermediate sheet metal ilange carried by said hub in axially spaced parallel relation to the integral ilange, a flange of insulating material at the other end of said hub in axially spaced parallel relation to said sheet meta-l ange, a cord windable between said sheet metal tiange and said flange of insulating material, a spring storage drum rotatably mounted in said frame to one side of said hub and extending between said integral ilange and said sheet metal flange to align said storage drum with the portion of said hub therebetween, the diameter of said storage drum being less than that of said portion of Ithe hub, a spring prestressed to coil tightly around said storage drum and having its outer end secured to said portion of the hub to be wound thereon when said hub is rotated by unwindinjg of said cord therefrom, a pair of concentric slip rings mounted directly on said ilange of insulating material, and a pair of brushes supported by said frame for frictionally contacting said slip rings to establish electrical connections therewith.

8. In a oordwinder, a casing having a tube extending therethrough to form a passage, a cordwinding spool rotatabfly mounted within said casing on said tube, said spool including axially spaced parallel ilanges, a cord connected to said spool to be wound thereon between the adjacent innerttaces of said lianges, a driving drum having a cylindrical hub portion adjacent to the outer face of one of said llanges and lmounted for rotation coaxially with said spool on said tube, said drum having a third flange at the end of said hub remote from said one llange and axially parallel thereto, -a spring storage drum rotatably supported in said casing to one side of said driving drum, the diameter of said storage drum being less than that of said driving drum and said storage drum extending between said one of said flanges and said third flange to radially align said storage vdrum with said driving drum, a spring prestressed to coil tightly around said storage drum and having its outer end secured to said hub portion of the driving drum to be wound therearound when said spool and driving drum are rotated by unwinding of said cord from said spool, and a pawl pivotally mounted on the radial face of said third flange which is remote from said one flange and engageable with a recess formed in the outer wall portion of said tube for restraining rotation of said spool and driving drum by said spring.

References Ctedin the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 698,278 Harrison Apr. 22, 1902 l2,063,799 Fornelius et al. Dec. 8, 1936 2,322,038 Lofgren June 15, 1943 2,647,960 Benjamin Aug. 4, 1953 2,673,694 Howell Mar. 30, 1954 2,833,534 Foster May 6, 1958 2,945,921 `Belicka et al. July 19, 1960 Notice of Adverse Decision in Interference In Interference No. 93,170 involving Patent N o. 8,011,083, M. E. Beleka end A. P. ECaWl, Cordwinders, final decision adverse to the patentees Was rendered June 18, 1963, as to claims 1, 2, 5,

6, 7 and 8. [Oficial Gazette August 27', 1963.] 

